Chapter 27

The relationship between Commander Lou and Tian Mi, the younger sister of the political commissar of the Third Regiment, was the talk of the military and family quarters.

However, when Lou Luhui led the young soldiers in cleaning and enthusiastically moved beds and cabinets from the logistics department, everyone finally realized he was about to get married.

Logically speaking, they couldn’t apply for a house before obtaining their marriage certificate.

But rules are rules, and personal connections are personal connections.

The unit had finally managed to get rid of another bachelor, and Commander Wang was eager to celebrate with firecrackers.

So, when Lou Luhui applied to arrange the house early, he was quickly approved.

When it comes to marriage, most people had a supportive attitude, and some soldiers even took the time to come and help out.

Of course, there were those who had doubts.

Take the Qian siblings, for example.

One day, when Qian Sheng returned home from work, he found the house eerily quiet, which ignited his anger.

His job had been going poorly lately, and his wife’s lack of understanding only added to his frustration, which he could barely tolerate.

With a sullen face, Qian Sheng threw his coat onto the sofa and marched angrily toward the bedroom.

Then with a loud “bang!” he pushed the bedroom door open.

The lights were off in the room, but the dim light couldn’t hide the large bruises on his wife Ge Yun’s cheekbones.

Especially when he met Ge Yun’s lifeless gaze, Qian Sheng’s fury deflated like a punctured balloon.

“Comrade Xaio Yun, are you hungry? I’ll have my sister make dinner,” he said, his tone slightly appeasing.

However, Ge Yun didn’t soften at all; she just held the child, her gaze slightly dazed, retreating back into her shell.

Seeing her silence, Qian Sheng’s impatience surfaced. He intended to scold her again, but ultimately, fearing his father-in-law’s intimidation, he suppressed his anger, coaxed her gently for a moment, and sighed as he closed the door and stepped out.

Once outside, he immediately darkened his face and headed to the next room.

Seeing his younger sister sprawled on the bed, Qian Sheng frowned. “Qian Jingjing, go make dinner!”

In front of her older brother, Qian Jingjing still needed to maintain some dignity. She smiled and pushed back, “Ge, you know my cooking isn’t great, and I still haven’t fully recovered from my cold. Let Saozi do it.”

How dare she mention Saozi? If it weren’t for this little brat’s meddling, would he have lost his temper and punched his wife?

He urged impatiently, “Hurry up! Either go make dinner, or get the hell out for Laozi!”

Qian Jingjing rolled her eyes and got out of bed to put on her shoes. “Brother, can you give me some money? Xun Yan invited me to go play in town.”

Mentioning money made Qian Sheng’s face darken even more, but as he processed the name Xun Yan, he asked in surprise, “You mean… Commander Wang’s little daughter, Wang Xun Yan?”

“Who else could be called Xun Yan?” 

“How do you know her? Would she even pay attention to you?” The daughter of the Brigade Commander was the youngest child in the family, only 17, and had just graduated from high school. He heard that next year she would either be sent off to the army or go to a workers’ university. That girl didn’t seem very approachable at all.

To put it bluntly, if we go back a few decades, this would have been a Da Xiaojie^[1]Eldest daughter of an affluent family., it was quite normal to be noble and virtuous^[2]清高 – Aloof from politics and material pursuits..

Qian Sheng never expected that his sister could actually get close to someone like her and even go shopping together.

With a tone of envy and sarcasm, Qian Jingjing said, “She looks arrogant, but she’s just a spoiled fool raised by her family. A few flattering words can easily win her over.”

Hearing this, Qian Sheng was still a bit skeptical. “How did you manage to charm her?”

“It’s not that difficult. I know she has someone she likes, so that gives us a topic to talk about,” Qian Jingjing pouted. Her earlier embarrassment was all due to that old hag who dragged her around.

As for Lou Luhui, she had given up on him the moment he refused to show her any respect.

These past few days, Qian Jingjing had also been busy and quickly found her next target: the Brigade Commander’s daughter-in-law. What a prestigious identity that would be!

Seeing his sister so confident, Qian Sheng still had his doubts, since Wang Xun Yan was notorious for her spoiled temperament in the family quarters. “You’ve only known each other for a few days. Would she really tell you about the person she likes?”

Qian Jingjing was a bit annoyed by her brother’s question, but patiently explained, “What’s so hard about it? People are all the same. I just need to sigh a few times in front of Wang Xun Yan. When she gets curious and asks me, I’ll put on a sad face and spin a story—like how my family doesn’t approve of the person I like or something. Once I share something so personal, she’ll see me as a friend. And those simple-minded ones might even share their own sad stories to comfort me. With that back-and-forth, what wouldn’t I be able to get out of her?”

Her words truly opened Qian Sheng’s eyes. He had always known his sister was smart but never realized she had such a clever mind. He asked, “So how do you know she has someone she likes?”

Qian Jingjing replied smugly, “Who knows? I was just probing. It’s normal for a 17-year-old girl to have someone she likes. Even if she doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. As long as I share my secrets and make her think I’m sincere and unfortunate, that’s enough.”

Inevitably, Qian Sheng found himself reevaluating his younger sister after hearing her thoughts.

He didn’t rush to speak, instead carefully observing his younger sister, who was already standing tall and graceful before him.

While Jingjing might not be as beautiful as Tian Saozi’s younger sister, she was still prettier than most girls. Having just graduated from middle school, she knew how to dress well and charm people. Most importantly, she was clever. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t impossible for her to climb up the social ladder to the son of Brigade Commander Wang.

After all, their family had a history of eight generations as poor farmers, with both political integrity and dedication. In terms of ideological awareness, they were even at a higher level than the Wang family.

Everyone knew that Brigade Commander Wang’s wife, Mei Saozi, used to be a university teacher. Even if she hadn’t gone abroad, she had the credentials of an educated person, which was a far cry from those well-rooted farmers.

Who knew, perhaps a family like theirs would need to marry a rural girl to achieve balance.

The more Qian Sheng thought about it, the more he felt it made sense, and the more he regretted it.

He realized he had been too fixated on Lou Luhui. Why was he so intent on butting heads with him? Wasn’t Brigade Commander Wang’s son, Wang Lin Kun, also quite good?

He heard Wang Lin Kun was only 22 this year and had already become a company commander in the Southern Army.

At that age, he was sure that without help from his family, there was no way he could have achieved that.

Besides, he had met Wang Lin Kun before. Compared to Lou Luhui’s cold and unyielding nature, Wang Lin Kun was quite a polite and gentle young man.

What young person isn’t lovesick? It’s usually the girls who take the initiative.

If… his sister could get Wang Lin Kun’s contact information through Wang Xun Yan, everything would become much easier.

After all, his sister’s reputation on the island wasn’t great. Instead of stubbornly trying to salvage her image here, it would be better to find another path and become the brigade commander’s daughter-in-law.

Although she still wouldn’t have the strong family background that Lou Luhui had, it would be acceptable.

Once he sorted out the advantages, Qian Sheng generously went back to his room, took out some money, and gave it to his sister. His tone returned to its usual warmth: “Here’s fifty yuan and some fabric tickets. Make yourself a few nice outfits, dress up pretty, and then take some photos.”

As for what the photos were for, it went without saying.

Qian Jingjing didn’t hold back and took the money, pretending to be concerned: “Ge, you’re giving me so many fabric tickets. Won’t Saozi be mad?”

“What’s there to be mad about? She’s ugly and so fat; clothes won’t look good on her anyway.” Even as he said this, Qian Sheng lowered his voice, worried that his wife in the adjacent bedroom would hear.

“Oh, that’s fine then.”

In the living room, Ge Yun, who had come out to get hot water while holding the baby, froze at the sound of this. After a few seconds of silence, she said nothing and quietly went into the kitchen, leaving a few drops of water where she had stood.

“What are you looking at?” Seeing his sister staring in the direction of the living room, Qian Sheng turned around too but saw nothing.

Qian Jingjing concealed the malice in her eyes and smiled brightly: “Nothing, thank you, Ge.”

“Foolish girl, I’m your older brother; no need to be so polite.”

“…”

When they took the supply truck to the town, they needed to notify the quartermaster in advance.

At this time, the small Liberation truck had a driver and a front passenger seat, while the back had a row of seats that could squeeze in four more people.

It was definitely overloaded, but during this era, nobody really paid attention to that.

Thus, the quartermaster stipulated that family members could go to the town for shopping, but no more than four people at a time.

Unless you were willing to sit in the open cargo bed at the back.

In summer, that was fine, but in winter, it was best to avoid it.

Even if Tian Yu and Tian Mi were willing, the two men wouldn’t agree.

So, due to the limited seating, by the time it was their turn, several days had already passed.

The logistics supply truck had two shifts daily: one in the morning and one at noon, with the morning military truck leaving promptly at five.

As soon as dawn broke, even before the wake-up call sounded, Tian Yu was already up.

She quietly slipped out of the bedroom and found that her sister had woken up even earlier than she had.

Closing the door behind her, she asked softly, “When did you wake up?”

Tian Mi pointed towards the washroom and lowered her voice: “Just came out, getting ready to brush my teeth.”

“Oh, then let’s go together.”

Once they entered the small, designated washroom, Tian Yu sighed, “It’s good we’re going today; there’s a market in town, and we can buy some things from our fellow villagers.”

Tian Mi was squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush when she also added some to her sister’s toothbrush before asking, “Isn’t the market open only on fixed dates, like the first and fifteenth of the month?”

“Hey, hey, you little girl, squeeze less! This stuff is hard to come by and really expensive…” Looking at the half-squeezed toothpaste on the brush head, Tian Yu felt a pang in her heart as she grumbled about her sister wasting it. Unable to put it back in the tube, she reluctantly brushed her teeth, experiencing the most toothpaste she had ever used in her life.

Tian Mi wanted to say that she had brought over a dozen boxes from Hushi, which would last her a while. Besides, it wasn’t completely absent here; they could gradually stock up. 

Of course, she only thought this in her mind. After all, it wasn’t wrong for this generation to advocate for frugality.

So, while brushing her teeth, she nodded in agreement, indicating she would use less next time, being as obedient as could be.

After they finished grooming and went to the kitchen for breakfast, Tian Mi learned that due to the frequent heavy snow here, the market schedule wasn’t very precise; most of the time, the team leaders would receive messages and notify everyone at the last minute.

Considering that, it really was good luck to catch the market…

After breakfast, Tian Yu returned to the bedroom to get her little girl ready.

At this moment, Chen Gang was also awake, propping himself up on his arm. “How about I take the child to class?” 

Tian Yu pressed him back into bed and tucked him in, saying, “No need for you to worry; sleep a little longer. I talked to Xiao Yun earlier; she will help me take care of her for half the day.” 

With that, she left him no opportunity to argue and swiftly took her daughter out the door.

“Sorry, Saozi, look at this situation. Comrade Xiao Yun caught a cold, and it’s quite serious, so it’s really inconvenient. How about I ask Jingjing to help take care of the baby instead?” Qian Sheng stood at the door, draped in his military coat, looking apologetic.

Tian Yu was anxious on the surface but couldn’t help stepping forward: “When did she catch a cold? How come I didn’t hear about it? Should I go in and check?”

“Um…” Qian Sheng felt a bit embarrassed. “We haven’t even gotten up yet. Why don’t you go to the market first? After you finish shopping, you can come back and chat with Xiao Yun?”

With him saying this, Tian Yu, despite her worry, felt too embarrassed to insist on going in.

Naturally, she couldn’t leave the child with Qian Jingjing. No matter what, her chubby girl didn’t know her, and she felt it was inappropriate to ask an unfamiliar girl to take care of her child—what right did she have to do that?

So, Tian Yu politely thanked him and went to the Brigade Commander’s house to ask Mei Saozi for help in watching the baby for half a day.

On the way to catch the bus, Tian Yu felt regret several times…

Regretting that she had been so distracted by her sister’s arrival: “No wonder I hadn’t seen her for several days; turns out she caught a cold. Sigh… suffering in this cold weather. She hasn’t weaned yet, so she’ll just have to tough it out. Qian Sheng is a guy who can talk a lot; who knows if what he said is true.”

Tian Mi didn’t have a strong impression of Ge Yun, her sister’s friend, and most of her understanding came from what her sister had told her.

Since she joined the army, she had only seen Ge Yun once or twice when she first arrived.

She vaguely remembered her as a very gentle woman.

As her sister’s friend, Tian Mi respected her and thought seriously about it: “Aren’t we going to the town today? Let’s see if there are any frozen pears for sale and look for some old rock candy. Jie, you can stew her a bowl every day; that’s good for the lungs, and it should help a bit.”

Tian Yu clapped her hands, saying, “Right, right! But no need to buy frozen pears; we still have plenty at home. We just need to get some old rock candy.”

Tian Mi looked doubtful. “Why didn’t I find any?”

Tian Yu chuckled, “I’ve been keeping an eye on you and those three kids at home. If I didn’t hide them, would you have eaten them all in a day? You’re not careful about how much you eat, and you’re not afraid of getting a stomachache.”

Hearing this, Tian Mi felt a bit embarrassed. Was it really her fault? If anyone should be blamed, it should be the era they lived in—there just weren’t many treats available. She wasn’t interested in candies and cookies, and with nothing to do, it was only natural to look for something to eat when bored.

Especially… especially when frozen pears tasted so good.

In any case, this wasn’t her fault!

If there was blame, it should go to the pears!

The journey from the army base to town would take about an hour and a half without the obstruction of wind or snow.

Today, the weather was fine, and the trip went smoothly, allowing the sisters to arrive in town by 7 AM.

After agreeing on a return time with the little soldier who drove them, they headed straight to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Tian Mi had no idea what to expect there, so she obediently followed her sister, carrying a basket on her back.

Since they were going back to the city with Lou Luhui on Saturday to buy wedding supplies, the city had a wider variety of goods available.

Thus, aside from some basic seasonings, Tian Yu’s main goal this time was to buy cookies and candies.

Oh, and gifts for Lai Di, Pan Di, and Xiang Yang.

Seeing her sister frantically rummaging through the items, Tian Mi felt overwhelmed. Although they didn’t need a ticket, buying this much was excessive.

Especially since those hard candies were mixed with saccharin, and eating too many wouldn’t be good for their health. So, she advised, “Jie, let’s buy less. We can come back next time after we finish what we have.”

Tian Yu shrugged it off. “It’s fine; we’ll eat it all. You can take half when the time comes.”

Tian Mi… she really wasn’t tempted! Really!

Of course, at this moment, she had no idea she was about to eat her words…

They didn’t buy much at the cooperative, but the small space was crowded with people.

By the time they struggled out of the tightly packed crowd, another hour had passed.

“Come on, let’s hurry to the big market…” Women who were seasoned shoppers were quite formidable.

Tian Mi’s head ached from all the shouting and bargaining sounds inside the cooperative, while Tian Yu, bursting with energy, pulled her sister along to the next destination.

Tian Mi had experienced a big market in Chaoyang Village.

Compared to the diverse markets back home, this one felt rather desolate.

Aside from the most common items like potatoes, radishes, cabbages, and peanuts, there were mostly chestnuts and frozen pears, along with frozen persimmons that Tian Mi had never seen before.

The sisters had brought plenty of money, and they were both willing to spend, genuinely buying a heap of items.

In the end, because they had too much stuff, they spent thirty cents to hire someone with a unicycle to deliver it to where they were waiting for the bus.

Throughout this time, Tian Mi wore a small, joyful expression.

Her source of happiness came from the small wooden bucket of frozen milk she was holding.

Yes, when she saw this item at the market, she just couldn’t resist.

Earlier, at the cooperative, she had felt tempted when she saw someone buying milk powder with a ticket, but unfortunately, she didn’t have a milk powder ticket.

Heaven knew she was a dairy product enthusiast, loving all dairy foods.

When she was in Chaoyang Village, the pressure was too much, and she never thought about such things. Now that she was here, her little Guo Guo would drink a cup every day, but how could she dare to fight with a 2-year-old for food?

Wah… life was truly too miserable.

So, when she saw the milk, she absolutely didn’t want to let it go. In the end, she bought both the milk and the bucket and hugged it tightly all the way.

She was already thinking about various delicious recipes in her mind.

Hmm… Lou Luhui seemed to have a habit of drinking tea, so caramel milk tea would be perfect.

Ginger milk pudding could also be tried, but controlling the temperature was tricky; it might take several attempts.

And… and milk cubes, milk buns…

Ah~ there were just so many delicious options.

Maybe next time they came to town, they could order more from Uncle Zhasek?

Anyway, in this kind of weather, snacks could be stored for a long time…

Wah… she suddenly felt so touched; life was becoming happy again. It was so hard-won.

Meanwhile, Tian Yu had her eyes fixed on her sister’s face, watching the rapid changes in her little expressions, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

…She was just like a child, yet she wouldn’t admit to being greedy.

Today was a bountiful harvest, and they had managed to buy all the items they desired.

Thus, on the way back, Tian Mi’s mood remained high.

When they arrived at the logistics department of the army, the two got off the bus but didn’t see any familiar faces. Tian Yu wondered, “LaoChen and your brother-in-law should be off work by now. Why didn’t they come to pick us up?”

Tian Mi also felt troubled, looking at the pile of things being unloaded from the truck. “What about all this?”

Tian Yu waved her hand. “That’s no problem. Just tell the cooking team that we’ll head back first, and later let Lao Chen and Meifu come to move it.”

That worked, so Tian Mi just hugged the milk bucket.

“What do you need to hold that for? Leave it here; they can take it back in one trip with the flatbed,” Tian Yu couldn’t figure out what to do with this gluttonous sister of hers.

“That won’t do; what if it gets dirty? Besides, if Lou Luhui can only get back in the evening, I won’t be able to make anything delicious this afternoon!” 

Tian Yu… “Pfft… fine, hold it, you little ancestor!”

With her sister’s agreement, Tian Mi immediately beamed with joy.

The 836th unit was stationed on an island.

From the back door of the cooking team’s building to the family quarters, it was only a few hundred meters to the sea.

The sisters walked lightly, chatting as they went. 

Just as they were discussing the best ways to prepare the milk, a sharp and sorrowful cry pierced the air.

Tian Mi and Tian Yu were startled and instinctively looked toward the sound. 

Unfortunately, it was a bit far away, so they couldn’t see clearly. The noise was also chaotic, making it hard to grasp the situation.

However, that area was shallow water, and recently, soldiers had been rotating shifts to fish there.

“Could something have happened?” Tian Yu’s tone was anxious, as every year there were stories about people falling through the ice holes.

Tian Mi pursed her lips. “Jie, let’s go check it out.”

“Yes, let’s go!” 

With that, the sisters hurried toward the gathering crowd.

Halfway there, they finally pieced together what was happening from snippets of conversation they overheard.

A child had fallen into the ice hole.

The shrill cry they heard was likely the child’s mother.

Tian Mi quickened her pace, her brow furrowing tightly. She couldn’t understand why someone would bring a child here when it was clearly forbidden for families to come to this area.

But before she could think more, the next words she overheard made her stumble.

Then, with a loud crash, the wooden bucket her sister had been teasing her about as a “precious treasure” suddenly fell to the ground without warning.

Not only did the bucket break, but the frozen milk inside shattered into pieces, with more than half of it splashing onto her.

But Tian Mi paid no attention to it. Her eyes turned red with panic as she grabbed her sister’s hand. “What did they just say? …Did they say Lou Luhui jumped in to save someone?”

“No… it can’t be…” Tian Yu had heard it too, but she was equally flustered, unable to believe it. Could anyone really enter that ice hole? That was a death sentence!

Seeing her sister’s helpless, terrified expression, suddenly, a scene from the original book flashed unbidden into Tian Mi’s mind.

In the book, when Tian Mi’s original self was around forty years old, Tian Yu had returned to their hometown. Upon seeing her younger sister, who was twelve years her junior but looked even older, Tian Yu cried as she lamented her sister’s unhappy marriage.

She had mentioned that she once wanted to introduce a good match for her sister, but before she could, her second sister had already married. Later, the promising young officer she had in mind tragically died after jumping into the sea to save someone. His body was never recovered. If her second sister had married him, she would have suffered the pain of losing her husband.

This once blurry memory suddenly resurfaced, as if etched deeply into Tian Mi’s mind, like a carving made by a knife.

The information hit her too abruptly, leaving her head buzzing, unable to fully process it…

How could this be?

That man who seemed a bit stern and tough, yet underneath was upright, honest, and almost adorably simple… How could it be?

The man whose face was firm and decisive, but whose palms would sweat nervously just from holding her hand… How could it be?

The man who blushed so fiercely when she kissed him that even the dim light couldn’t hide the redness in his cheeks… How could he… die?

She didn’t believe it!

She! Didn’t! Believe it!

“Zhou Peng, I will fck you up you son of a btch^[3]Original sentence sounded weird in English so I changed it a bit to fit the mood., how could you not notice that the rescue rope tied to Commander Lou was frayed and about to snap?!”

A sudden shout snapped Tian Mi out of her chaotic thoughts, and her clarity returned in an instant.

Without warning, she quickened her pace, tearing off her clothes as she ran forward.

“Mi Yatou, what are you doing? Don’t scare me! Don’t act rashly!” Tian Yu saw her sister rushing like a madwoman toward the ice hole, discarding her clothes as she went. Desperation filled her voice as tears streamed down her face. She gritted her teeth and ran after her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep up with her sister’s speed.

Tian Mi heard her elder sister’s cries, but there was no time to answer. She couldn’t afford to lose even one second of rescue time.

She wasn’t acting recklessly; she was incredibly calm and fully aware that she could save him.

She wasn’t sure if she was crying or not. All she knew was that she didn’t want him to die, even if their feelings hadn’t yet run that deep. He was someone whose very presence brought her joy.

So…

Faster!

Just a little faster!

Tian Mi sprinted, her rapid breathing pulling icy air into her lungs, making her chest ache painfully.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that she could save him!

Gradually, Tian Mi couldn’t tell if she was clear-headed or lost in a haze. She could no longer hear anyone’s shouts, nor see the staggering woman being helped by Zhou Jianshe as they hurried over.

With her mind solely focused on saving him, Tian Mi felt an immense strength well up inside her from who knows where, pushing through everyone’s attempts to stop her. Then with a loud splash, she dove into the freezing water.